On the move: the study of self-organised movement of animal groups with and without leadership. This project will uncover the common principles that control the movement of large groups of organisms. We will focus on swarming honey bees, hopping bands of billions of locusts and millions of crickets marching in unison. The outcomes of our research will be broadly applicable to other collective phenomena, even to traffic and crowd control in humans.
Social insects as model systems in complexity science. Many optimisation algorithms are based on the behaviour of social insects. These algorithms function well under static conditions, when there is only one optimal solution. This project will determine how individual insect behaviour affects collective behaviour. Outcomes will allow the development of better algorithms.
Assessing gene function in the developing vertebrate brain using zebrafish as a model system. Although the vertebrate brain is the most complicated biological tissue it arises from a very simple sheet of cells during embryogenesis. Groups of nerve cells begin to communicate with each other through long interconnecting processes called axons. This project seeks to understand the role of specific genes in this process. This is the first time that the mechanisms controlling the growth of the ear ....Assessing gene function in the developing vertebrate brain using zebrafish as a model system. Although the vertebrate brain is the most complicated biological tissue it arises from a very simple sheet of cells during embryogenesis. Groups of nerve cells begin to communicate with each other through long interconnecting processes called axons. This project seeks to understand the role of specific genes in this process. This is the first time that the mechanisms controlling the growth of the earliest axons in the vertebrate brain will be examined in a living brain. Our analysis is expected to discover genes that are targets for manipulation of axon growth.Read moreRead less
The evolution of biological scaling. This project aims to understand why so few biological traits scale proportionally with body size. In contrast to previous mechanistic studies of this longstanding question, the problem will be approached from an evolutionary viewpoint, using artificial selection to engineer animals in which biological scaling laws are either broken or enhanced. By measuring the consequences of this for fitness, the project will provide a new understanding of how organismal si ....The evolution of biological scaling. This project aims to understand why so few biological traits scale proportionally with body size. In contrast to previous mechanistic studies of this longstanding question, the problem will be approached from an evolutionary viewpoint, using artificial selection to engineer animals in which biological scaling laws are either broken or enhanced. By measuring the consequences of this for fitness, the project will provide a new understanding of how organismal size and physiology evolve in nature. The approach should provide significant benefits to our understanding of the role of genetic constraints in hindering or facilitating biological adaptation, furthering our understanding of the capacity of animals to respond to environmental change.Read moreRead less
Vulnerability to cocaine use: discovering common mechanisms conserved across animal phyla. Drug abuse costs Australia an estimated $ 20 billion each year, and research is urgently needed to understand how drugs cause long-term behavioural dysfunction. Our research will identify the basal cellular mechanisms underlying drug abuse and addiction, which are likely to be the best targets for therapies to prevent and cure addiction. Our findings are also relevant to other neuropsychiatric disorders r ....Vulnerability to cocaine use: discovering common mechanisms conserved across animal phyla. Drug abuse costs Australia an estimated $ 20 billion each year, and research is urgently needed to understand how drugs cause long-term behavioural dysfunction. Our research will identify the basal cellular mechanisms underlying drug abuse and addiction, which are likely to be the best targets for therapies to prevent and cure addiction. Our findings are also relevant to other neuropsychiatric disorders related to drug abuse (e.g. depression, anxiety) that are on the increase in Australia. Our work will enhance Australia's reputation for neuroscience research, and will provide training for students in neuropharmacology and molecular neurobiology.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100949
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$365,058.00
Summary
Did colour vision evolve in the dark? This project aims to investigate the ability of fishes to perceive colour in dim-light conditions by studying representatives from two delicate and endangered ecosystems, coral reefs (nocturnal fish) and the deep-sea. Through a multidisciplinary approach to understanding colour vision and animal behaviour, this study expects to fill a knowledge gap in visual neuroscience and ecology while adding to the understanding of how marine creatures see and interact. ....Did colour vision evolve in the dark? This project aims to investigate the ability of fishes to perceive colour in dim-light conditions by studying representatives from two delicate and endangered ecosystems, coral reefs (nocturnal fish) and the deep-sea. Through a multidisciplinary approach to understanding colour vision and animal behaviour, this study expects to fill a knowledge gap in visual neuroscience and ecology while adding to the understanding of how marine creatures see and interact. This should provide benefits in conservation and management strategies and may also inspire the development of new sensor technologies.Read moreRead less
Combining biomechanics and movement ecology of kangaroos and relatives. Kangaroos and their relatives are unique in their body form, hopping gait and by the fact that increased speed does not come at an increased energetic cost. This project aims to build 3D musculoskeletal models to understand how muscles and tendons interact, enabling greater distances to be travelled using less energy. Further, it will use animal tracking devices and machine-learning tools to quantify movements in the wild. T ....Combining biomechanics and movement ecology of kangaroos and relatives. Kangaroos and their relatives are unique in their body form, hopping gait and by the fact that increased speed does not come at an increased energetic cost. This project aims to build 3D musculoskeletal models to understand how muscles and tendons interact, enabling greater distances to be travelled using less energy. Further, it will use animal tracking devices and machine-learning tools to quantify movements in the wild. This framework will provide novel insights into how energetics, morphology, and habitat have shaped the evolution of this unique group. This may open doors to a range of future ecological, physiological, and conservation studies and provide biological inspiration for energetically efficient robotic and assistive devices.Read moreRead less
Do crayfish use the information carried by low-level electrical signals in the environment? Many vertebrates detect electric fields. Fish communicate electrically. No invertebrate has been shown to do so. We have evidence that crayfish change their behaviour following exposure to low-level, waterborne electrical signals. Crayfish behaviour is currently the preferred model for studying the neurobiology of social hierarchies in animals. Evidence that information is passing from either predators or ....Do crayfish use the information carried by low-level electrical signals in the environment? Many vertebrates detect electric fields. Fish communicate electrically. No invertebrate has been shown to do so. We have evidence that crayfish change their behaviour following exposure to low-level, waterborne electrical signals. Crayfish behaviour is currently the preferred model for studying the neurobiology of social hierarchies in animals. Evidence that information is passing from either predators or conspecifics through an undescribed electrosensory channel would fundamentally change the direction of that research. Behaviour modification using electrical signals could also prove to be a valuable tool in crustacean aquaculture. This is a proposal to discover the nature and behavioural implications of crayfish electroreception.Read moreRead less
Quantitative measures of brain evolution in early vertebrates. Why and how do brains become bigger? Using new quantitative methods of assessing the number of neurons with respect to both brain and body size, the project will trace the ways in which the brain (and its component parts) has evolved in a range of early vertebrates. The results will enable us to trace the evolution of cognitive abilities in animals.
Higher cognition and hemispheric specialization in an avian species: referential and intentional communication. We will discover whether alarm calls of Australian magpies, noted for their outstanding range of vocalisations, are referential (signalling predator type and location) and intentional (vocalised in specific contexts). Such complex communication , once thought to be unique to humans, has been found in some mammals and just one avian species, the domestic chick. This project will be the ....Higher cognition and hemispheric specialization in an avian species: referential and intentional communication. We will discover whether alarm calls of Australian magpies, noted for their outstanding range of vocalisations, are referential (signalling predator type and location) and intentional (vocalised in specific contexts). Such complex communication , once thought to be unique to humans, has been found in some mammals and just one avian species, the domestic chick. This project will be the first such investigation of an avian species in its natural habitat. This is important also because bird and mammalian brains are organised differently and birds offer a unique opportunity to discover whether one hemisphere is specialised for this purpose.Read moreRead less